- This article concerns how a man differs from women. For other meanings of man see Man (disambiguation). For other uses of boy, see Boy (disambiguation)
A man (from Proto-Germanic mannaz "man, person") is a male human adult, in contrast to an adult female, which is a woman. The term man (irregular plural: men) is used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions, or both. Manhood is the period in a male's life after he has transitioned from a boy. Many cultures have rites of passage to symbolize a man's coming of age, such as confirmation in some branches of Christianity, bar mitzvah in Judaism, or even just the celebration of the eighteenth or twenty-first birthday.
A boy is a male human child, in contrast to an female child, which is a girl. The term boy is used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions, or both. After a boy matures, he is called a man. There are various colloquial exceptions to this usage. For example, the word boy is also commonly used when discussing adult males in relationships, such as in the word boyfriend. Sometimes the word is also used disparagingly for a black man or male slave.
For many, the word man implies a certain degree of maturity and responsibility that young men in particular often feel unprepared for; yet they may also feel too old to be called a boy. For this reason, many avoid using either man or boy to describe a young man and prefer colloquial terms such as bloke, chap, fellow, guy or the like.
Sex
This young man has decorated his body with tattoos. In terms of sex, men have various sexual characteristics that differentiate them from women. Just as in women, the sex organs of a man are part of the reproductive system. The secondary sex characteristics are involved in attracting a mate or in defeating rivals. But these secondary traits are also often related to reproduction in some manner. In contrast to women, men have sex organs that are mostly considered to be external, although many parts of the male reproductive system are internal as well. The study of male reproduction and associated organs is called andrology. Most, but not all, men have the karyotype 46,XY.
In general, men suffer from many of the same illnesses as women. However, there are some sex-related illnesses that occur only, or more frequently, in men.
Biological factors are usually not the sole determinants of whether a person considers themselves as man or is considered a man or not, for example, several men have been born without a typical male physiology (that is, they are transgendered or transsexual men; estimates range between 1:2.000 and one in 100,000), or some men can have an abnormal hormone or chromosomal difference (such as androgen insensitivity syndrome), or another intersex condition; some of those intersex people who have had a female sex assigned at birth sought to reassign their sex later in their lives (or vice versa). (See also gender identity, gender role and transman.) Additionally, 20% of males, particularly among infants in the US, have experienced circumcision which seeks to alter the male genitalia from its natural state.
Gender roles Michelangelo's David is widely considered to be one of the finest artistic portrayals of a man. In terms of gender, men differ from women by a variety of behaviours. - Men, considered as a group, are often considered to be more aggressive than women. However, in interpersonal relationships, most research has found that men and women are equally aggressive. Men do tend to be more aggressive outside of the home.
- In modern western society, few wear cosmetics or clothing generally associated with female gender roles. (Doing so is known as cross-dressing, and is generally stigmatised.)
See also
External links - Historical Boys' Clothing (http://members.tripod.com/~histclo/)
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